Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Uh oh: “The possibility of a mistrial emerged on Tuesday in the United States’ first war crimes trial at Guantanamo, after prosecutors said the judge gave flawed instructions to a jury of military officers in the case against Osama bin Laden’s driver. Prosecutors asked the judge to revise the instructions he gave in what constitutes a war crime to the jurors, who began deliberating on Monday in the case of Yemeni prisoner Salim Hamdan.”
* For crying out loud: “The soaring price of oil will leave the Iraqi government with a cumulative budget surplus of as much as $79 billion by year’s end an American federal oversight agency has concluded in an analysis released on Tuesday. The unspent windfall, which covers surpluses from oil sales from 2005 through 2008, appears likely to put an uncomfortable new focus on the approximately $48 billion in American taxpayer money devoted to rebuilding Iraq since the American-led invasion.” Ya think?
* Interest rates stay unchanged: “The Federal Reserve, confronted with the perils of a slumping economy and rising inflation, has decided for a second straight meeting to leave interest rates unchanged. The Fed announced Tuesday that it was keeping its target for the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other on overnight loans, at 2 percent. Wall Street seem pleased with the decision.”
* I’ve long believed John Kerry is much funnier than people give him credit for: “I don’t know if you know this. John McCain is looking for someone for vice president who has more economic expertise than he does. So congratulations to all of you, you’re on the short list.”
* TPM: “Looks like we have yet another point in common between John McCain and George Bush: Both are responding to Nouri al-Maliki’s inconvenient endorsement of Barack Obama’s 16-month withdrawal timeline by saying that Maliki didn’t really mean it.”
* Fascinating Newsweek piece: “What the massive turnout for a free medical and dental clinic in southwest Virginia reveals about the widening gap between health-care haves and have-nots in the United States.”
* Fox News is boasting about a KFC restaurant opening in Fallujah. The establishment doesn’t actually exist.
* Stevens wants a change in venue: “Lawyers for Sen. Ted Stevens (R., Alaska) filed a motion Monday to move his trial to Alaska so he can campaign for re-election during the trial…. ‘Were venue transferred to Alaska, Senator Stevens would have the opportunity to campaign in the evenings and on weekends during the trial,’ the motion said. In the filing, Stevens’ legal defense team argued the ‘center of gravity’ of the case was based in Alaska, and that very little of the alleged underlying conduct took place in Washington, D.C., where the case is currently being heard.”
* Don’t underestimate Oprah’s political power.
* I’m only vaguely aware of who Toby Keith is, but he appears to be an unusually foolish political commentator. I expect a Fox News contract to be extended his way soon.
* “Ethnic cleansing” doesn’t mean what Stephen Biddle, Michael O’Hanlon, and Kenneth Pollack seem to think it means.
* I’m glad to see someone at MSNBC is reading Media Matters’ reports.
* No more Dana Milbank on “Countdown.” Keith Olbermann’s backstory on this is worth reading.
* As a rule, I consider political figures’ families entirely off-limits. But when a Republican candidate for Senate has an adult son who declares “Slavery Gets Shit Done” on his Facebook page, I think it’s fair-game.
* And finally, asked about the illegal employment decisions made by his Justice Department, the president said yesterday, “I had a lot of hires in this administration, a lot of parts of it. I’ve read the critique. I’ve listened very seriously to what they said. And other than that, I have no comment.” I have no idea what this means, but I found it amusing.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.